Rocky road for campaign finance

A sweeping overhaul of the campaign finance system seems destined to stall in the Senate – adding to tensions with House Democrats who have grown tired of taking politically risky votes only to see their proposals die on the Senate steps.

The DISCLOSE Act, crafted in response to a landmark Supreme Court case lifting corporate campaign contribution restrictions, could end up in the pile of dozens of bills — including a cap and trade proposal, domestic funding bills and a tax extenders package – that ended up in purgatory after Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) forced vulnerable members to take politically risky votes.

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“Another bill, another fight with the Senate,” said one exasperated House Democratic aide. “Most of the frustration is directed at Senate Republicans who have absolutely no desire to work to get anything done, so hunting for one or two Senate GOP votes is a painful fact of legislative life.”

What’s particularly galling to House Democrats is that the party is unified on the subject of campaign finance legislation, yet the Senate can’t seem to line up the votes. But the House bill now has exemptions for the National Rifle Association, labor unions and potentially other large special interest organizations, creating a major problem in the Senate.

Still, Majority Leader Harry Reid has made multiple guarantees — both in public and behind closed doors to top House officials — that he will bring the DISCLOSE Act to the floor before the August recess. Yet Reid keeps losing key moderates while he makes these promises.

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) threw a major wrench at Reid's voting calculus with a statement slamming the legislation as not "honest" or "genuine." And late in the week, other key Republicans started to bail on Reid.

"I just can't see it happening this summer," Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) told POLITICO, before listing a series of bills left on the Senate docket, including a small business jobs package, the war supplemental spending bill and unemployment benefits.

Snowe, who has joined Democrats on major legislation such as Wall Street reform and temporary unemployment extensions, added that while she has begun to review the campaign finance language, changes would be required before she could support it.

"It's going to take some work,” Snowe said.

The legislation would require corporations, labor unions, trade associations and advocacy groups to publicly disclose financing of TV ads or mass mailings during the closing months of a political campaign. Foreign-controlled corporations and major government contractors would also be barred from paying for such political activities. Republicans – who back the Supreme Court’s decision – contend that the DISCLOSE Act is yet another crack down on free speech that wouldn’t hold up in court.

McCain told POLITICO there isn't a single Republican senator who would support the legislation as it stands now, calling the bill "a bailout for the unions." McCain said the issue has been raised in several caucus meetings and he says fixing the campaign finance system is important, but he sees the Democratic version of the DISCLOSE Act as partisan.